Patent Law

Unspooled

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

Emsat has a patent enforcement campaign against wireless providers such as Sprint Nextel, Verizon, Alltel, AT&T and T-Mobile. The claimed technology is an FCC requirement: determining the location of cell phones, one (the required) use being for emergency response networks. Sprint prompted a reexamination, and won a stay on that basis. In their case, AT&T and T-Mobile sought a stay for the same reason, expressing confidence: "It is highly likely that the re-examination by the PTO of the patents-in-suit will substantially narrow or even eliminate the issues confronting the parties and court in the instant cases." "Highly likely" turned to mush. The PTO balked at the reexam, for all but a few claims not asserted. Emsat had been so confidence that it hadn't even opposed the stay. Sometimes silence is golden.

The patents in suit: 5,946,611; 6,324,404; 6,847,822; and 7,289,763, all titled "Cellular telephone system that uses position of a mobile unit to make call management decisions."

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on June 19, 2009 (boomark / email).